War Is Over Now
by Skye Haerrington
Summary: Sequel to Here Without You. Jareth finally pushes Sarah out of his mind but one night decides to check up on her. He finds her bruised and broken. This was originally a one shot, but its now a short series. Warning: Violence and swearing.
1. Part 1

A/N: Major thanks to Lili and Gothic Rogue for looking this over. Please don't tell me that I use my spell checker well. I actually am capable of spelling on my own.

This was originally a one shot. Then it hit 20 pages and I still wasn't done, so I broke it up into a short series.

Disclaimer: I don't own it; I just play with it.

The fist came at her face seemingly out of nowhere. She had left long before he had come home; he suspected that she had been with another man. The fact that she and her two closest friends, Tessa and Katelin, came up to her apartment together did not rid him of his paranoia. Nor did the bags of groceries in her hands. Nothing could once he had the idea in his head.

Tonight she hadn't thought that it would be a problem. Damien was supposed to attend a dinner with some of the clients in his advertising firm. Apparently it had been cancelled. When she got home, he was on the couch in a pair of sweatpants. She knew all too well that he was waiting for an explanation for both her absence and the lack of dinner on the table. Tessa and Katelin had exchanged a concerned look when they saw him sitting there. All three knew what he was capable of and had seen the repercussions of angering him.

When he started beating Sarah, the other two women tried to pull Damien away from her. He just threw them aside as though the weight of the two combined was less than that of a feather. Damien's rage was temporarily turned on to Katelin and Tessa as he screamed at them to leave. Their presence compromised his control over his girlfriend. When they weakly protested again, Damien held them each up against the wall, one woman behind each arm. They were shaking in fear. The man glared at them, which terrified the two women to the bone.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" he growled. He then grabbed each woman by the hair and dragged the two out the front door. Both were tossed to the ground not far from the stairs. Before they could stand, Damien had shut and locked the door on them.

They wanted to call the police, but the cops wouldn't do anything. The last five or six times Damien had beaten Sarah was evidence enough of that. Tessa had called on Katelin's cell phone, as she had been calmer, and the cops never showed up. The girls even tried pounding on Damien's door and yelling to the neighbors, but they had grown used to his abusing Sarah. If they heard, they certainly wouldn't react. There was nothing they could do to help, no matter how hard they tried.

So, hit after hit, blow after blow, Sarah took her "punishment." In his eyes, it served her right for disobeying him. He fancied himself a god. His word was law; he was both judge and jury. And Sarah, ever the faithful nun, took it in silent misery. She was even starting to believe that she was inherently bad and that she deserved every hit that she took. He was all she had; without him, she was nothing. Or so he made her believe. Tessa and Katelin had tried to convince her to leave him, but they just didn't understand how much she needed him.

When he had found her, Sarah was still the fanciful girl that had bested Jareth's Labyrinth. Though the experience taught her a good deal about familial bonds and growing up, she was incapable of letting go of her fantasies no matter how childish they had been. Deep down, they were so much a part of her that she feared if she lost them, she would also lose herself. If nothing else, the experience in the Underground strengthened her belief in the mystical.

That was until he came along. Damien changed all that. While, at first, he was the perfect Prince Charming, Sarah soon discovered that he was a good deal closer to the character of the evil stepmother. He put on a happy face for the rest of the world but, when they were alone, it was an entirely different story. She was his and would do what he said; there were no two ways about it. 

Sarah had tried to leave him. Once, she had moved in with Karen, her father and Toby, but Damien found her. He beat her savagely that night and then brought her breakfast in bed and a bouquet of yellow roses the next morning. At first, all of his beating had been followed by extravagant gifts and gestures. The second time, she was not so lucky.

Tessa and Katelin had convinced her to leave again. She moved into their apartment and slept on the couch. Damien had come for her less than a week later, this time with promises that he would seek help and things would be better. The three women had their doubts, but in the end, Sarah went with him. That night, he beat her within inches of her life. When the police met him at the hospital, he fed them some story about her falling down the stairs. As there were no other witnesses and Sarah did not discredit him when she awoke, they had no choice but to believe him.

All of this ran through Sarah's head while he repeatedly pounded on her with his fists. She began to wonder what could happen in someone's life to make them this cruel. Her knees gave out and she dropped. He took this opportunity to kick her hard in the stomach. Coughing, bleeding, she fell onto her side. Everything on her body hurt. _I deserve this_, she thought,_ I should've been here to make him dinner. I should've at least told him where I was going, so he wouldn't worry. This is all my fault_. 

After a pause, a voice long thought dead surfaced in her head. _No, Sarah, you don't deserve this. You've never done anything so bad to deserve this pain_. And the young woman realized the voice was right, but there was nothing she could do about it. If she ran, he'd only find her again. Maybe this time he would even kill her. No, if she left, she would have to go somewhere so far away that he'd never be able to find her. Or she'd have to find someone stronger than he to protect her.

_That will never happen_, she thought bitterly as she drew herself up to her hands and knees and began the slow crawl to the bathroom. After he had kicked her in the stomach, Damien had gone into the kitchen for a glass of water. He must feel that she'd been punished enough for something she didn't even do. What Sarah could never understand was how he could be so calm about his cruelty. He claimed to love her; he claimed that she was his world; he claimed that he couldn't live with out her. Yet, despite all of his claims, he was cruel to her, so much crueler than she had once thought Jareth to be.

How wrong she had been. Though Jareth hadn't treated her well, his malice had been nothing compared to Damien. At least Sarah had done something to deserve his anger. Who could blame him for treating her poorly, though? She certainly couldn't. It was only all these years later, after being subjected to Damien's "punishments" for a time that she realized that Jareth had made her an offer that she had been too young to understand. "Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave," he had said in the depths of his castle all those years ago. She truly hadn't understood at that time, but eventually the realization dawned on her. He had offered her his heart and she had turned away from it as though it was nothing. She was so focused on saving Toby that she might have destroyed Jareth. 

_No_, she thought with a sad smile, _he wouldn't have let a silly girl like me do that to him_. The somewhat smiling face in the mirror looked as though it had come straight from a horror movie. The cuts oozed blood. The bruises were even beginning to show on her cheeks and nose. Gingerly, she had begun to dab the cuts on her face with a damp washcloth. With a pain in the region of her heart, she realized she had bought these washcloths because of their dark green color. It allowed her to keep them, as the bloodstains couldn't show through on the dark material.

Saline tears began to roll down her cheeks as she cried silently. The water droplets rolled down over her cuts, mingling with the blood in them and causing a painful sting. She didn't react. Thanks to Damien, she was now quite capable of keeping herself from reacting to pain. Crying and pleading only made him hit harder.

Just then, she couldn't hold it back any longer. She locked the bathroom door shut and fell to her knees beside the bathtub and sobbed as quietly as possible. She did not want to provoke another attack from Damien. 

Suddenly, though she hadn't thought this much about Jareth in years, she desperately wished he would somehow find her and take her away. If he did, she could be with a man that would treat her as she deserved to be treated simply because he loved her enough not to let her get hurt, let alone attack her himself. But these were just the silly dreams of a child trapped within this battered body. It would never happen, she knew. That thought created a new sadness in her, one that rivaled the pain Damien had inflicted a mere few moments ago.

Jareth paced the Escher Room. It had been so long since he'd been there; he avoided it purposely. Being there reminded him too much of Sarah and what he could never have with her. After the night of their shared dream, his visits to this part of the castle had dwindled to nothing. Despite this, he hadn't ordered the room opened to the Goblins or removed. It had once meant so much to him that he couldn't just say good-bye to it. Now, though, he felt inexplicably drawn to it.

The wild-haired man stood in the middle of the room. Actually, he stood on the stair that seemed to be closest to the middle without actually floating away from solid ground. For a long while, he thought of all the pain that loving that girl had caused. The Goblin Kingdom had fallen into a state of disarray, as its king was too busy with his own thoughts and obsessions to govern it properly.

_No_, he thought with a degree of bitterness, _she didn't ask that I love her. She didn't ask for anything that I did for her, except take the boy, and I did it anyway. She didn't even accept that which I offered her, the gift of my heart beyond all of the hoops I jumped through to be her perfect villain. Perhaps I was so convincing a villain that she couldn't see me as anything more_.

Jareth shook his head angrily. Thoughts like these would bring him back to where he had been before his sister, Lily, had come to break him from his reverie. She saw what his obsession with the girl had done to his subjects and took it upon herself to bring him back.

Lily had hoped it would be little more than a slap across the face and a short lecture about how irresponsible he was being over a mortal girl. Unfortunately, it had taken quite a bit of weaning to get him to this point. She had pulled him from the low point in his life and he was about to let himself return. He couldn't do that to Lily, not after all she had done for him.

"One look," he promised himself, "one look, and nothing more."

With a flick of his wrist, Jareth balanced a shining orb about the size of a baseball on the tips of his fingers. He gazed into it intently and willed that it show him the woman that he loved, despite all of his desperate attempts to change that.

After a moment's concentration, a picture came into view. It was not the happy Sarah that he had expected to see. In fact, he had hoped to see her happily married with a baby so that he may fully get over the emotion he felt for her. Sadly, what he saw was the exact opposite of what he had wanted. True, Sarah did lie beside a sleeping form, but there was no happiness.

Jareth became incensed, as the image in the crystal grew larger and larger. No, there was certainly no happiness on her face. In fact, she was sobbing violently. Her trembling was so great that Jareth was surprised the man beside her didn't wake because of it. It was then that he realized what had caused her to sob so much. All over her face and what he could see of her body, which was plenty thanks to the spaghetti strap nightgown she wore, was covered in cuts and bruises.

Jareth's mind was racing. There was only one reason why the man beside Sarah was not awake, comforting her. He must have been the one to cause her this damage. Jareth's rage grew. "He will pay," the blond man growled. He had never seen Sarah in such a state of despair. Whether she felt for him or not, the Goblin King had no choice but to give up his place a villain to Sarah's heroin and save her.

Thunder exploded so loudly that Sarah jumped. She hadn't expected a storm; the weatherman hadn't said anything about storms tonight. Tears still spilled down her cheeks. As he couldn't see her face, Damien must've thought she was shaking out of fear because he placed a supposedly comforting hand on her arm. She had to resist an urge to jerk her arm away, as he had placed his hand directly on one of the bruises he had inflicted just a half an hour earlier.

When a flash of lightning broke through the darkness, Sarah clutched her comforter closer to her body. Thunderstorms had never really sat well with her and she couldn't quite figure out why. And, as though she weren't already frightened of enough, the French doors that lead to the balcony of Damien and Sarah's apartment were blown open by the fierce winds of the storm.

The man in bed beside her got up to shut the doors. He started mumbling something about the building manager, spending all of his hard earned money on this dump and how everything broke constantly. With the cool air blowing in through the doors as an excuse, Sarah covered her face with the comforter. It would do her no good to let Damien see how much he affected her. 

"What the fuck are you doing on my balcony?" she heard Damien's indignant yell merely seconds later. It was followed by a laugh, a very cruel and strangely familiar laugh.

Instantly, Sarah knew exactly who was outside that window. It was no wonder the sudden storm and the way the door flew open felt like déjà vu. To be positive, and to prove she wasn't dreaming, Sarah pulled the covers away from her face. The sight caused her to push herself into the seated position; the Goblin King stood towering over Damien in the window with an enraged expression on his face. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, was looking rather put out and angry that some strange man dressed in styles that seemed a combination of spandex and what the leading men of romance novels wore was interrupting his sleep.

Jareth's gaze drifted her way for a brief moment. "Are you alright, Sarah?" he inquired. His features softened considerably as he posed the question.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Damien replied, as his anger began to rise dramatically. He openly glared at the figure before him and his face slowly began to turn red.

Jareth turned back to him, a completely calm expression on his face. His eyes, on the other hand, were full of cold hatred. "I don't recall posing that question to you. You would do well to have some respect around your betters," he responded, seething.

"I'm alright, Jareth," Sarah said quickly in an attempt to calm the two feuding egos in front of her. 

Damien turned and glared at her, but before he had a chance to say a word, Jareth replied calmly with, "You're lying." 

"Betters?" Damien scoffed as he finally just pushed his way into the conversation. "And how the fuck do you two know each other? This is the bastard that you've been cheating on me with, isn't it? You little whore!" His glare mirrored the accusation in his voice. With three quick strides, Damien stood in front of her. Before she had the chance to move, his club of a hand hit her hard on the cheek. Jareth had all the proof that he needed that Damien had been the one to harm Sarah so.

Sarah cried out. For once, the force of his attack wasn't so strong that it threw her back on the bed. Perhaps because, for once, a challenging figure stood before him. Jareth looked positively irate. It was an expression Sarah wasn't expecting to see, not in the slightest.

"Touch her again and there will be hell to pay, boy," Jareth said, menacingly. The way Jareth spoke to him only angered Damien more. He did not like to be talked down to.

With a loud crack, Damien hit Sarah so fiercely that she tumbled off of the bed and landed hard on the ground. She couldn't help but cry out in pain. From her place on the floor, she watched the two men. Her hands clutched the cheek that Damien had struck mere moments before. He had hit her so hard that it broke the skin and blood began to trickle down her cheek.

In a daze, Sarah watched as Jareth grabbed Damien by the shirt and pushed him back until he was pressed against the wall. The shock on the mortal man's face was evident. Through the tears that spilled down her face, Sarah smiled just a touch. There was such a feeling of safety deep in her core that she hadn't felt for a very long time. She knew that she should be afraid for Damien, but somehow she wasn't at all.

"Now what did I tell you?" Jareth growled. "I expressly forbid you from touching her and you did it anyway. For this and other wrongs, you deserve a punishment of the most severe variety. But the greatest of your wicked deeds was done to Sarah, so I shall leave the punishment up to her. But know that if it were up to me, you would die in the most horrible fashion I or any of my advisors could devise." He looked to Sarah. "What shall we do with him?"

"I…Jareth, I don't know," she said nervously.

The Goblin King turned to face the young woman and his expression once again softened. "Then I will give you time to decide," he said quietly. A crystal materialized in his hand and he pressed it against Damien's chest until the man had disappeared into it.

"What did you do with him?" Sarah asked tonelessly.

"I put him in an oubliette," Jareth said coldly. "And there he'll stay until you've made a decision." He offered her his hand and she hesitantly took it. When she was on her feet, she found that she felt very dizzy. If it hadn't been for the Goblin King's arms around her, Sarah would've collapsed back onto the bed.

"Come with me," he said, his voice filled with many emotions that Sarah could not decipher. "Stay with me in the Underground until you can decide what should be done with him." 

Sarah just nodded. She was in such a daze over the events of the last fifteen minutes that it didn't even come to mind to question why Jareth had come to her aid like that, why he had been so angry with Damien. All she could do at the moment was look at him and offer a soft, "thank you," as he lead her to the window and back into the Labyrinth for the first time since she had defeated it long ago. The sight of the castle beyond the Goblin City was the last she saw before the darkness of sleep pulled her into its depths.


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Sarah didn't remember a thing about the trip back into the Labyrinth. She supposed that she must've fallen asleep or passed out after such an entirely exhausting night. The room she woke in was positively beautiful. The bed in which she lay was an elegant canopy with thick blue drapes. When she opened them, she found she was staring at an extravagant set that included a wardrobe, a dresser and a desk. There was a striking painting of a young woman that looked just like Jareth over the door. Her blond locks were less unruly than those of the Goblin King and she was much neater in her appearance, but there was no mistaking the familial ties between the two. Until this moment, the thought that Jareth could have a family never even crossed her mind.

For several minutes, Sarah sat in silence; she just took in her extravagant surroundings. Her luck seemed to have completely turned around. The generosity she had received had certainly come from the most unexpected of places. Never had she thought that Jareth would be so eager to help her, and so kind. She still couldn't believe that she was in control and, for once, Damien couldn't hurt her. That was all thanks to the man she had once thought to be the villain. Life had taught her a great many lessons since she had traversed the Labyrinth. The most important of them was that there was no clear line between evil and good; they just existed and every being contained a bit of each. Her immature mind had determined Jareth to be one of those run of the mill fairy tale villains, but this whole experience had taught her differently. In fact, so had Damien.

A small smile crossed Sarah's face. She was released from Damien. Yet, somewhere deep inside, she had this nagging feeling that this was a dream. One's life just doesn't turn around in the matter of a few minutes. Even if she were free from Damien for the rest of eternity, his ghost would always haunt her. In every man, she would see him. In every dark corner of every new room she walked into, she would fear him. Could there be anything so strong as to release her from that? The smile that had just appeared on her face slowly disappeared when she came to a realization. No. She would never be released.

In a desperate attempt to rid her mind of such depressing notions, Sarah decided that now would be a good time to get dressed. If nothing else, it would occupy her mind for at least a few moments. She assumed that Jareth had thought to take some of her clothing from her apartment, as someone had obviously changed her out of the torn and blood stained nightgown she had worn only hours ago. 

Slowly, she made her way to the wardrobe. When she opened it, her eyes rested upon a single dress. It had to have been one of the most extravagant and gorgeous things she'd ever seen. There was a note pinned to the collar. In scrawled letters, it read, "I commissioned this for you last night. If it appears that you'll be with us for any longer than a single day, I shall ensure that you have more. I hope you find it and your room to your liking. Jareth." 

Sarah gently unpinned the note and laid it on the dresser. The garment that hung before her was absolutely beautiful. It was a white dress with inch-wide straps that was meant to cling tightly to one's torso and flare out at the hips. She could see lines of metal that ran down the length of the top portion, which indicated it was a corset. The skirt, on the other hand, flared out elegantly. Sarah gingerly removed the dress from the closet. She treated it as though even the smallest jostle or touch would shatter the delicate gown. 

It took her several minutes to put on the dress. Every last inch of the material fit perfectly, as though it truly had been made for no one in the world but her. All that was left to do was to cinch the corset, something that she knew from past experiences that she could not do alone.

Now that her mind was unoccupied, she was free to think again on the jumble of feelings in the pit of her stomach. She was nervous, even afraid that something would go wrong and Damien would consume her life again. And, at the same time, Sarah felt such elation at being freed from him. Yet this newfound freedom was not without its drawbacks. She would always fear that something would happen. Damien would always be in the back of her mind, reminding her that she belonged to him.

"No!" she cried aloud, though she hadn't realized that she had opened her mouth. Sarah's hand reached up to cover her face, which was now clean though still bruised and cut from the previous night.

It was simple, she decided. When she was not required to think of Damien, she would do whatever was necessary to keep him out of her mind. She would move in with Tessa and Katelin again, at least until she got back on her feet. They would keep her busy enough that she couldn't worry that Damien would return for her. For now, she simply had to find things within the castle to do.

Sarah had just begun to brush her hair when a soft knock on the door interrupted her. "Come in," she called quietly.

A beautiful and strangely familiar looking young blond woman walked into the room. "Hello, Sarah," she said in a polite though commanding voice, as though she was raised to lead. "It is so good to finally meet you. I've heard quite a bit about you."

"You…you're the woman from the painting on the wall," Sarah replied. She instantly felt stupid and rude. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the woman said happily. "Indeed I am the woman in the painting. My name is Lily. I am Jareth's younger sister. Oh, here. Let me help you with that." The princess positioned herself behind Sarah and began to tighten the corset.

"No, really, it's alright," the young mortal woman began, but it was too late. Lily had already begun to yank at the strings.

"No, really, dear. I insist on at least helping you with this. You've been through so much with that man. What a barbarian! You poor girl. It's so lucky that Jareth came when he did. That disgusting excuse for a man might've killed you." 

"I…yes, I am very grateful to his majesty," Sarah said as Lily completed her work with the corset and began to magically style her hair. "Thank you, your highness."

"Oh, do stop with the formalities. If we are to be friends, you must call me Li, or at the very least, Lily," she said kindly, as though the two had known each other for years. The woman reminded Sarah of an excitable girl. A sad realization struck her. Lily must not have very many friends, as she obviously spends much of her time with the goblin halfwits.

"Now," she said which pulled Sarah from her thoughts. "Jareth wants to hold court with you this afternoon, directly after the three of us have lunch. Now don't worry about protocol. No one will be in the throne room but Jareth, myself, the scribe, some witnesses and, unfortunately, Damien."

"He-he's going to be there?"

"Yes, but don't you fret. He won't be permitted to speak. You need not even look on him while you speak. It will be very simple. All will tell their sides of the story, including he but he will go last. Then Jareth will pass down his judgment, which I believe you will have a large hand in."

Sarah sighed and looked at the floor as though it were one of the most interesting things in the world.

"Please, don't look so sad, Sarah. You will never have to see him again after today," Lily said with a smile as she put a comforting hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Tonight, after all is done and over with, you and my brother can discuss what is next for you. Perhaps there are options that you have yet to see," the woman said with a cryptic smile. "You know, Jareth is very fond of you. He's told me so much over the last few years."

This statement shocked Sarah a bit. She wasn't expecting to be told that Jareth liked her and even spoke of her several times to his sister. "I don't know what to say, your-Lily."

Lily laughed. "You don't have to say anything. Just keep that in mind when you and my brother discuss your options later."

Lunch with the royal family of the Goblin Kingdom hadn't been at all what Sarah expected. She thought that there would be servants everywhere to tend to the needs of Lily and Jareth. It turned out she was quite wrong. Once the servants had brought in a modest plate of breads, cheeses, meats and wine, they were not seen again until the plates were to be cleared.

It had also crossed her mind that Jareth would perhaps bring up her time in the Labyrinth, or even try to speak with her about what would happen in her not too distant future. Strangely, the conversation had been minimal. The three had fallen into a companionable silence more often than not. It gave Sarah time to think of things she would rather forget and she found herself occupying her mind with thoughts of Jareth.

After what Lily said earlier, Sarah had begun to regret her childish decisions during her last trip to the Labyrinth, even more than she had before. She felt truly bad for not seeing the meaning behind Jareth's offer. If she could do anything to take it back, she would. Everything that he had done or tried to do for her in the last several hours proved him to be an amazing friend. Sarah would need that to get over everything that Damien had put her through.

"Sarah?" Jareth said with an amused smile on his face.

"Yes?" she replied. The young woman shot a confused look at Lily when she seemed to giggle.

"I've just called your name three or four times," he said with a short laugh, but his amused face slowly gave way to an expressionless mask. "Come. It is time to begin." His voice was grave. As he spoke, he extended an arm, which Sarah took appreciatively. She read it as a sign of friendship; that Jareth would protect her and be the stone on which she would lean during the next few hours.

Jareth lead the way through a part of the castle she had never seen. It seems most of what she laid her eyes upon was not what she expected it to be. Nothing was as she remembered it, if it was still here at all. They had barely left the dining room a moment or two ago, and she already felt lost in the huge castle. How Jareth and Lily could find their way around this place was beyond Sarah. She had a hard enough time trying to discover which direction they were headed that there was no chance of her remembering the path. Of course, she had not a single complaint about what occupied her mind, as it was anything but what she was on her way to do.

All too soon, the trio made it to the throne room. The chairs used for the audience Jareth held with some of his subjects once or twice a week were mostly removed. All that was left was a set of chairs a level below the throne, a small wooden structure that contained the disgruntled mortal, Damien, and a row of chairs beside it. Sarah gave a gasp of surprise as she saw the two mortals that inhabited a couple of those chairs: Tessa and Katelin. The young woman forgot about any worries for protocol as she threw herself into the hugs of her two closest friends. Lily looked positively pleased with herself when she saw Sarah's reaction; Jareth just smiled faintly, only so much that Lily caught his expression.

"Slut," spat the man. "So you've done him already, have you bitch? When I get my hands on you…"

With a wave of Jareth's hands, the threat was cut off. What appeared to be bolts of lightning shot from the four corners of what the group now realized was a containment field, and struck Damien. He fell to his knees, crying out in pain. Jareth sneered. "I warned you of this early today, did I not, mortal? Be silent until you are spoken to or the pain you just felt will be little more than a tickle compared to what I will do to you."

Damien glared at Jareth but said nothing. He was really in no position to do anything. Satisfied that the mortal would obey his commands, Jareth walked to where Sarah was. She looked fearfully at Damien, as though the man would break free from his small prison and kill her.

Jareth offered his hand to Sarah and she took it. He led her from the two mortals that he had brought here by his sister's request. The king fell into step beside the young woman and whispered, "Let me worry about him. Just know this, he will never again, in this life or any other, hurt you. I will see to that personally."

Sarah just offered him a small smile of appreciation. There were no words to express how thankful she was that Jareth watched over her. Unfortunately, it did not stop the fear. She knew all too well what Damien was capable of. She had felt it. Reassurances and control did not remove the imprint that it left.

The King of the Goblins led her to one of the two chairs on the level just below his throne. His sister occupied the other. After Sarah had sat down, he ascended the next couple of stairs to rest on his throne.

"Be seated," he said, his voice rigid with duty and protocol. "I, Jareth, King of the Goblins, do charge this mortal, Damien, with abuse, attempted murder and crimes against this court, and therefore claim him under my jurisdiction. Do you understand these charges, mortal?"

"What crimes against the court?" Damien asked in anger, "And Sarah deserved everything she got."

Jareth stared at him calmly, too calmly. "Your crimes against this court rest in the allegations that Ms. Williams and I had 'relations.' It is not your position to question a king, regardless of the fact that I have not laid a finger on the woman in any way that is not considered entirely proper. To bring slander against me is to slander the entire family and, as it is unfounded, is a crime against the court," Jareth smiled cruelly. "While normally I overlook such talk, I have made an exception for you."

Sarah tried her best to look calm; in order to keep up this appearance, she stared determinedly at the hands of the scribe that took all this down. She tried not to allow herself to be affected by what was coming to pass between the two men. It was only when Jareth made mention of his never having touched her that Sarah's gaze faltered. Was that a hint of sadness in his voice? The young woman stared at him in wonder.

"I take it you understand the charges against you. In which case, I call upon the mortal friends of Ms. Sarah Williams to speak of this mortal man, Ms. Tessa Sparrow and Ms. Katelin Colwell."


	3. Part 3

After the initial shock of Jareth's sadness, whether real or imagined, wore off, Sarah resumed her stare at the scribe. It was hard not to flinch or cry as they told both Jareth and his small team of advisors what had taken place while Sarah had lived with Damien. Somehow, knowing that she had her two best friends in the world, as well as a powerful king and his younger sister, at her side made her feel as though she might be able to handle all of this.

They spoke for several minutes each before they were excused and permitted to return to their seats. Jareth, then, relayed to his advisors the events of the previous evening, when he had found Sarah bloodied and bruised in her bed. Then, of the subsequent things Damien had done to her in his presence. His voice was cold, professional. If she had been searching for a deeper feeling, she would not find it here.

As Jareth sat after his speech, he sat again in his throne. "I call, now, Ms. Sarah Williams herself." A quick reassuring look spread across his face before it went back to a cold mask.

Slowly, Sarah rose to her feet. Her hands were trembling. Suddenly, she felt very ill. "Jar—your majesty, I don't think I can do this."

Jareth smiled kindly at her. If this had been any other situation, she would have laughed. Years ago she never would have thought it possible that the cruel and cold Goblin King was now sitting just above her, speaking in her favor and smiling kindly at her. If someone had told her this, she would have thought him or her mad.

Strangely, these thoughts gave her strength. She would laugh again. If not about this strange role that the Goblin King had taken, then she would laugh about something else. What mattered was that she survived. Not only this, but she had four wonderful friends to back her up, no matter what she chose to do.

As Jareth opened his mouth as if to speak, Sarah began, "I met Damien when I was nineteen years old. He was my first real relationship, my first real romance. Everything was so wonderful with him. Two years ago, when I graduated from college, I moved in with him. That's when my real troubles started. At first it was only the little things. He wanted me to wait before I got a job. I protested and he accused me of wanting an excuse to leave the house so I could cheat on him. I…I was afraid I'd lose him, so I did what he wanted," Sarah's voice started to falter. "It wasn't long before he convinced me not to get one at all. He used to tell me that a woman shouldn't work unless she had to, and he made more than enough money for the both of us. So I started to take care of making dinner, doing dishes and laundry, and all of those things that women are supposed to do. Whenever something went wrong, whenever something was a little less than perfect, he started to yell at me. If I went somewhere and he didn't know about it, then he'd accuse me of cheating when I got home…" her voice trailed off as she looked at Damien, who was openly glaring at her. "H-he," she stammered. She couldn't do this. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get away from him. Nothing could change that. He always told her that she'd always be with him and no matter where she went he would find her. How could thinks be different now?

The fear that she had barely managed to quell started to rise again. Her hands began to tremble. Then she felt a hand come to rest on her forearm so very gently. Surprised, she turned to find that that hand belonged to Lily. The young-looking Fae woman had an encouraging smile on her face. Sarah could feel her strength. It renewed her hope, which fought against the fear that had been reborn in her heart.

"He hit me," Sarah whispered. Jareth and Lily were the only ones who could hear her, and they even had to strain. "It would be just a slap at first, but I guess that wasn't punishment enough for what he thought I'd do, or for the little things I'd done wrong. He'd always accuse me, but I swear I'd never done any of those things. I didn't sleep with the neighbor, or anyone else for that matter. He…" she sniffled loudly, "he is and was the only man that's ever even had the opportunity to touch me. No matter what he accused me of, no matter how many times he beat me, I never would've cheated on him."

She paused. Her eyes rested on anything and everything that wasn't Damien when she spoke. She could feel the panic rise in her. "And when he punished me for being stupid and making mistakes, I guess I did deserve it. I shouldn't have under cooked his meat, or missed the speck of food on his wine glass…"

Jareth stood up abruptly and looked down at Sarah. "This court shall take a short recess. The prisoner will remain here, guarded. The rest of us," Jareth looked at both Tessa and Katelin to let them know that they were included in this, "the rest of us shall go to my parlor for some tea and a break from all of this. In a half an hour, we shall return."

Jareth descended the stairs to where Sarah sat. He looked rather upset. The young woman's first instinct was to shy away from him in fear of being hit. But he didn't hit her. Instead, he helped her to her feet and led her from the room. Every one of his actions was kind and gentle, though there was rage burning in his eyes. Lily, Tessa and Katelin followed not far behind the pair.

It did not take long for the group to reach Jareth's private parlor. With one hand grasped firmly on Sarah's, he motioned for the others to enter. "We shall be in momentarily," he said. "The servants should have already set out the tea. Lily, I trust you shall take care of our guests."

"Of course," his younger sister said as she led the way into the parlor. With her hand on the knob, the door clicked shut behind her.

The hallway was silent for a long moment as the Goblin King and the poor mortal stood a foot away from one another. Jareth's eyes remained square on Sarah's face, while hers were cast down. He was enraged while she was afraid. What the young woman did not realize was that her companion was not angry with her, but the man that had made a once proud and strong girl into this weak, terrified person before him.

Without a thought, Jareth took a step toward Sarah. Instinctively, she backed away and braced herself for the blow. And, though his arms were raised, it was not to strike her. He pulled her tense body close to his as his long fingers ran up and down the length of her neck. "What did he do to you to make you fear me so? There was a time that you would have stood strong against me if you had even the slightest thought that I'd hurt you. Instead, you cowered, when I have never lifted a finger to hurt you," he said. He felt helpless, a reaction that he was hardly used to. The only times he had ever felt like this in the past were when he was dealing with Sarah. What was it about this woman that made him feel such a way time after time?

"The cleaners, the bog, the peach, all of your goblins attacking me. What was that, then?" she asked softly.

"None of them hurt you, did they? They only derailed you from your task. I took no pleasure in what I had to do to you, but I had to do it. The least I could do was make sure none of it harmed you in any way," Jareth paused. "But you're avoiding my question, dearest Sarah. He has done more to scare you than just hit you a few times," he said. When she did not respond, he continued, "What has he done to you? Please, how can I help if you do not tell me?"

Sarah leaned her head against Jareth's slim though muscular chest in defeat. "He swore he'd kill me if I told, but I guess he can't follow through on that now, can he? And, still, I'm afraid that he will. I'm afraid he'll kill everyone I love if I dare cross him," she sighed softly and trembled slightly at the thought of what Damien had threatened to do. "He told me that if I left him again, he'd kill Toby. And he would, I just know it. Can you blame me for being terrified? My life is nothing now, thanks to him. Killing me wouldn't have been so bad because he'd already taken away so much, but I couldn't let him do that to Toby. God, he's just a little boy." Shaking violently now, Sarah buried her face in Jareth's ceremonial best. The sobs soon followed as her hands clung to every piece of material she could hold.

What she could not see was the new rage burning in his eyes, something that Jareth was rather grateful for. He leashed his temper. It would not do well for the base of trust that he had built with Sarah over the last few days to lose his head over the threat of a man that can do neither the woman he loved nor her half brother any more damage. Jareth would see to that. "He can't hurt you now, Sarah. Nor will he hurt you or anyone you love ever again," Jareth gently pried her from his torso so that he could stare into her teary eyes. His gentle fingers softly wiped away the trails that the tears created down her cheeks. "I promise I'll take care of you, because I…" Jareth couldn't finish his sentence. His lips lowered slowly to Sarah's and pressed against them in the most tender, most romantic kiss the young woman had ever known. It was all too easy to get lost in him, to forget about what lay ahead of her. In that moment, a rush of confusing and wonderful feelings ran rampant through her body and danced excitedly in her stomach. She could think of nothing more than to stay like this, with Jareth, until the world ended.

However, the ecstasy did not last long. The thought of what she must face and how Jareth played into that finally pierced through the fog that his kiss had created in her mind. Gently, but with some force, she pushed him away. "Jareth…I can't…"

Jareth sighed heavily. Pain slipped into his eyes, and something else that Sarah could not read. As quickly as it appeared, the emotion was masked. He seemed to be very good at doing that. "As you wish," he said. His voice was so barren that it was nearly harsh.

Sarah bit her lip. She didn't wish that at all. The feeling of his lips against hers was one of the most amazing things she'd ever known, but she wasn't meant to know it. She came here to rid herself of Damien, not to fall in love with the Goblin King. _No_, she said to herself, _it isn't love. I'm just grateful for his help and his sudden friendship, that's all. I couldn't possibly love the King of the Goblins_.

"Jareth," she said softly, her eyes averted. No matter what she tried to convince herself, she knew that one look at his pained eyes, one look at the devoted love that had been there while he was comforting her, and she would collapse. "You have to understand. So much has been happening. I—I'm not strong enough for this, not yet. I've only just found the strength to stand up against Damien. I'm still so weak that I couldn't even begin to do that without you and Lily, because I know I'm safe here. I don't know why or even how I know, but I do. And I wouldn't hurt you for all the world, not after what you've done for me…"

Jareth just shook his head and started toward the parlor door. He paused just before his hand reached the handle. "Sarah," he said, "dearest Sarah. You've already hurt me. I've made you an offer twice already, and twice you've refused. I'll not offer it again. But if you ever change your mind," Jareth turned and looked at the woman standing alone in the middle of the corridor, "it will be up to you."


	4. Part 4

Authors Note: My humblest apologies for the absence. Between graduating college and entering grad school, my life has been hectic. Add a good dose of writer's block, and you get seriously delayed fic! But I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy.

Additional AN: This chapter has been edited.

It was obvious to Tessa, Katelin and Lily that their trip from the throne room was intended to provide Sarah with an opportunity to calm down after facing what once had been the object of her love. During the long wait for the two to come in from the corridor, it became apparent that there was much more going on in the hallway than just a few moments free of Damien's presence.

Lily was, of course, fully aware of just how much her brother cared for the girl. She had seen Jareth's pain and helped him to get through it. The princess knew all too well how her brother longed to reach out and hold Sarah; she knew how he wanted to lift her away from her troubles and be the knight in shining armor that the woman had always wished for. When her brother finally entered the room with a hard, cold, though forcibly polite expression on his handsome face, Lily had recognized it and known things must not have gone well for him. Sarah was not far behind him. She looked a bit dazed, but still rather upset.

Lily had to bite back her reprimanding remarks for lack of desire to embarrass Sarah or to start a fight with Jareth in front of the girl's friends. A small, though entirely amused smile appeared on her face. Her adorably love struck elder brother must have told Sarah of his feelings or, even worse, acted on them. Lily suddenly felt a great wave of love and pity for her dear, though sometimes stupid, brother.

Tessa and Katelin, on the other hand, were both blissfully unaware of the uneasy, though entirely hopeless devotion that radiated from Jareth's proud form. But the women did not know the situation, not as Lily did. They were unaware of Jareth's motives or that he had ever loved their friend, or danced with Sarah and seduced her in dreams. She had been afraid that they would think her crazy. Only now where they starting to piece together that Sarah's stories, which always centered around a strange world full of goblins and magic which a young woman had to enter in order to save her baby brother, were based upon the Goblin King before them and all of that had taken place in this very castle. They had always thought that her great stories had been born from her eccentric, over active imagination. They were actually somewhat shocked to hear that Sarah had wished away the brother that she loved so much.

Katelin was the first to break the silence. She said, "Sarah, you're doing so well in there. Just don't let him intimidate you. Their…er…highnesses would never let him touch you, so you shouldn't worry about what he'll say or do." Her words caused the dazed look on Sarah's face to fade.

When Jareth did not seem inclined to back up what Katelin said, Lily spoke up. "Of course we'd never let anything happen to you. No matter what occurs, we'll both be here to help whenever we can. And, we are all friends here, Katelin," she replied pleasantly. "Please, Jareth and Lily are more than adequate."

"Thanks," Tessa said. Her hand was placed gently on Sarah's left hand in an act of reassurance, though her eyes darted around the parlor like an excited child. It seemed like a change of subject was best, both to help calm Sarah's nerves and clear the tension in the air. "This place is awesome. I can't believe you never told us about this."

Sarah's eyes were locked on her teacup. "Would you ever have believed me? I didn't think you'd ever get a chance to see it, so what was the point? If I had told you, you would have thought that I was crazy, and I'd have no way to prove that it really does exist."

Katelin opened her mouth to respond but immediately closed it. The bitterness and anger in Sarah's response left her taken aback. Tessa, on the other hand, was a bit hurt that her friend was afraid that neither she nor Katelin would have believed her. It hurt even more to realize that the battered and broken woman was entirely right.

The conversation after Sarah's small outburst was significantly less meaningful and, for the most part, kept alive by Lily. Jareth was in no mood to speak, which was apparent even to those that had never seen him before that morning. Sarah was in no better shape. She seemed to have devoted all of her energy to rebuilding her strength so she may finish what Jareth and Lily had started for her. Tessa and Katelin were both ashamed of themselves. Each continued to speak with the princess because they knew that they had to be strong for Sarah. They could not let their shame and hurt show because they knew their friend would feed from their wells of strength; any weakness could potentially hurt Sarah. Such disagreements could wait until a better time.

When they left the library, Sarah could feel the nerves crawl up her spine like so many little spiders. It was so hard to be strong and fight against this dragon. Her hands began to tremble. Both Lily and Katelin saw. The princess took one of the trembling hands in her own, while the young mortal woman linked arms with her terrified friend.

Jareth noticed little. The Goblin King had led the way back to his throne room swiftly, as though this court appearance was an entirely necessary and most boring duty, as opposed to it being something that he had incited on behalf of the woman he loved.

Lily smiled at Sarah in reassurance, squeezed her hand and left her mortal friends to take care of the woman. The Fae Princess had a separate duty, one to her elder brother. It may not be obvious to the other three women, but she knew Jareth was in pain. She knew from experience that her elder brother only turned cold when he was deeply hurt or extremely angry. Lily was relatively sure that nothing had taken place in that hallway to cause his rage, for either he or Sarah would be more forthcoming about the events. The more she thought about it, the more positive she was that Jareth had been so stupid as to bring up the feelings he had for the woman.

Lily fell into step with her brother. "Care to talk about it, dearest?"

"There is nothing to talk about," he replied curtly.

It wasn't much, but Lily could hear a bit of sadness in his voice. So she had been right about what took place in the hall. The woman knew full well that their conversation would be of a sensitive nature, so she sped up and gave Jareth a glance that begged him to join her. "What did you say to her?"

Jareth sighed in defeat. He never could keep things from his sister, no matter how much he wanted to. "It was not so much what I said, but what I did," he confessed in a near whisper. He paused, as though he was unsure that he should speak his actions to Lily at such a time as this, with his guests so close behind him. "I kissed her. I had not intended to, but she shared such horrors with me, looked so weak and alone. All I wanted to do was rescue her from his voice in her head, repeating the things he would do. I wanted to save her. It was all I could do," he said a little hopelessly, a position he did not enjoy being in. He seemed as though he could not continue, and that broke Lily's heart.

"She rejected you?" the princess asked softly, concerned for him.

"Yes, though not in so many words," her brother replied somewhat coldly, regaining the strength she was used to seeing in the man.

"She's not in a good place right now, Jareth. You know that. You saw what that bastard did to her," Lily began. "Someone who has been broken so thoroughly by a powerful man, not unlike yourself in that respect, will not be quick to pick up a new relationship. Let her grow strong. Give her kindness. Just keep your love to yourself. It will only hurt you and push her away."

"I can't be with her and not want to console her," Jareth said through clenched teeth. He was angry that Lily actually seemed to be taking the mortal's side. "I can't say something to her and not expect a proud and confident retort. It is what I've known of her and for her."

"And she can't see a man, imagine loving him and not expect him to turn out like the poor excuse for a mortal that you have in custody now," Lily replied evenly.

"I would never hurt her."

"I know, dearest. But how can she? He taught her this with each strike, each bruise. You've seen it before, in the children abused mothers wished away in order to save. And in the children wished away by neglectful parents. Getting them to open up takes time," she said.

"I've offered twice," Jareth said, nearly as angry as he was before, though he could feel it wane. "I will not offer again." Then he walked away.

"Stubborn, childish man," his sister said softly to herself as a smile tugged at her lips. "The two will never find each other boring."

Sarah sat on the stand, nervous again as she struggled not to wither under Damien's murderous glare. Jareth called the proceedings to order once more and turned to look at Sarah, which only served to tense her muscles further. It seems he expected her to speak, but she wasn't sure what to say to him. It was almost a relief when he frowned and looked away, until he spoke.

"Ms. Williams, will you relate the threat that Damien made against the life of beloved ex-ward of this kingdom, Mr. Toby Williams?" Jareth asked. His voice was cold and professional.

The words hit her like a blow to the stomach. She felt like she'd never regain the breath it stole from her. What happened to confidence? Her hands went to her temples and stayed there until she heard pained groans from Damien, which chilled her to the bone. If Jareth had to use the containment field on him, her ex-boyfriend must have gotten angry with her again. The fingers on her temples moved to cover her mouth as she dared look up, stunned, at Damien.

"Ms. Williams, please answer the question," Jareth said. It took all that was in him to both hide his concern and keep himself from mortally wounding Damien.

"He said that if I left him again, he would kill Toby and the rest of my family," Sarah replied, defeated. Her body shuddered with silent sobs as tears paved new pathways down her face. "He would do it. He would take my baby brother's life."

Jareth nodded. "That will be all for now, Ms. Williams," he said as he gestured to his sister, who helped Sarah back to her chair. The subdued sobs turned into full on convulsions when she was seated with Lily again, who cradled her as a mother would.

"I wish to call one final witness before judgment is passed and the court retires. This final witness must understand that he is in my court, and must behave accordingly. We call Damien Cook, who will remain within his containment field and away from Ms. Williams." Jareth paused as he met the fury of Damien's gaze with his own rage burning bright. "Would you care to begin, sir?"

Damien was silent for a moment as he looked Jareth over. He just knew that Sarah was cheating on him with this man. Except Jareth was no man. It seems that he was something straight from one of Sarah's silly little fantasies, nothing more than a creature in the form of a man. If that slut had to cheat on him, the least she could do was choose a man instead of this thing. He could punish a man, kill a man for touching what belonged to him.

"What I do with my woman is none of your business, you freak. She belonged to me until she decided to whore around with you. But she'll be mine again. She knows we belong together. She loves me," Damien said haughtily. "If she asks nicely, I might even forgive her."

Jareth frowned. It took all that was in him not to shock this man with the containment field. "Do not speak to me in this manner, Mr. Cook, or you will forfeit your right to defend yourself. A right I hardly think you deserve in the first place."

The angry mortal man drew a breath. "Women belong at home, cleaning the house, producing dinner, having and raising my kids, and she failed those tasks. I had to punish her. How else would she learn?

"She is mine. Mine. She doesn't live without me; she doesn't breathe without my say so. An idiot like her couldn't function without me. When I hit her, she asks for it. You think she couldn't screw you so well if I hadn't taught her first?" Damien asked angrily. His eyes never left Jareth's, as if challenging the King of the Goblins to explain to him why he could not rule over his woman.

At each word, she flinched. They came at her like a series of blows, striking again and again until Lily's arms and her fear that she would be punished were the only things that kept her from fleeing. Hidden, she could not see Damien's rage, but she could feel it. It came down on her again and again until his tirade ended.

From her position, she could not see the rage in Jareth's eyes, which he was growing more and more incapable of masking. It burned cold within him. If he had not looked over at Sarah and seen her broken, weeping in his sister's arms, he would have killed the man right there. She stopped him. Without a word, she stopped him. The final decision was for Sarah to make.

"Damien Cook, I pronounce you guilty of all crimes. Your sentence will be left up to the woman you inflicted such harm upon," he said. His hand trembled as he struggled not to strike Damien himself. He turned to his guards. "Take him back to the dungeons while we determine his punishment." In an angry flash, Jareth was gone.


	5. Part 5

When Lily found Jareth nearly an hour later, he was standing over the fire in his private chambers. Normally, it was one of the cleaner places in the castle, as the goblins had no access to it unless they or other servants were brought in to clean it. However, today it was filled with the debris of what once was a tea table with a matching set of four chairs and countless other pieces of small furniture, knick knacks and other items too small to be classified, all destroyed by their owner's rage.

"I'm surprised it took you so long to intrude upon my privacy," Jareth said bitterly. He did not bother to turn and look at the person that stood behind him. No one would know how to find him but his sister, and he was not sure than any but she would think to at the moment.

"Sarah is looking for you, dearest," she said, softly. Without a pause, as though she wanted to deliver the next sentence without raising the man's hopes, she continued. "She believes that she knows how she wants Damien Cook punished."

Jareth did not respond, though Lily knew he had absorbed her words. What she missed in his hidden countenance was the despondency he felt in knowing that Sarah had made her decision so quickly. The mortal woman would leave him soon, and the Goblin King was not sure they would ever meet again. Sarah would likely never forgive him for preying on her vulnerability, however good his intentions were at the time; Jareth feared that he could not forgive her for not loving him as he did her.

"It is late," Lily said in almost motherly tones. "The both of you have run the emotional gauntlet today, and are each worse for the wear. I took the liberty of ordering up dinner for the five of us, though I can have yours sent here should you prefer it. You and Sarah can discuss Damien in the morning. Put off saying farewell while you still can. Maybe try to repair the fragile trust that you broke."

It was like Lily had read his mind, and understood how he loathed the idea of letting her go. As her words registered in his mind, he felt a spark of hot anger for the blame she placed on him, which was washed away by a wave of love for the gesture he understood that she was making. She was giving him reason to keep Sarah longer, to forge a bond so she would not leap so directly out of his life.

"Thank you, sister," he said. "I will take dinner with you and the humans. Instruct the goblins to prepare the family dining space beside the Great Hall; it is more intimate and will be less likely to intimidate our guests."

"Yes, your majesty," Lily replied and left the room. There was a self-satisfied expression on her face. She had managed to return Jareth to some semblance of normalcy and inform him of his inappropriate behavior without provoking his anger. Manipulating the Goblin King's emotional state was something that Lily was quite used to, though it had been ages since she had seen him as frustrated as he had been. She had spent years perfecting the technique. Now she had to prepare herself for a much more daunting task: opening Sarah to the possibility of retaining her brother as a friend. After all, she could not let the kingdom fall into the state of disarray that it had the last time Sarah left Jareth. Perhaps, if all went well, she might even help win her brother a wife.

The two would have a beautiful wedding. She could imagine it all, right down to the smallest detail of the bridesmaids' dresses, which she would also wear. Lily smirked; it was an expression that bore a close resemblance to the one Jareth wore so often. She turned down the hall toward Sarah's room, prepared to mend what her brother had broken.

"Come in," Tessa said in response to the soft rapping on the door.

"Hello," Lily said as she stepped through. "Jareth and I request all of your presence at a private dinner tonight. The meal will be rather formal, and we've taken the liberty of procuring some dresses for the three of you. Tessa and Katelin, your dresses are in your rooms, as well as seamstresses to make any necessary alterations."

"Oh, wow, thanks!" Katelin said with what seemed to be forced cheeriness. All Lily had to do was look at the blank look on Sarah's face in order to understand why.

"Off with the two of you, then," Lily said to the mortal's friends, gesturing toward the door, as though shooing them through it. "I will come for you when dinner is ready. As for now, I need some time alone with Sarah."

The silence hung heavy in the air between the two women when the others were gone. Lily let it remain that way as she bustled around. She thought that, perhaps, Sarah would speak to her when she was ready. The princess let go of that idea when she had completed her preparations and Sarah still had not moved from her place. It seemed as though she was in shock, from the way she stared with an empty expression.

Lily placed a dress on the bed in front of Sarah. "I thought you might want to wear this," she said as she fingered the satiny, iridescent white material. "It is not really in fashion anymore, I know, but you loved the dress once. Jareth kept it here for you, in case he ever had the opportunity to give it to you as a reminder of the thirteen hours you spent here, and the dream he gave you."

Life returned to Sarah's eyes as she looked down at the white dress she wore in her illusion. She could almost taste the peach he had given her when she looked down at the dress, recalling the urgency with which she sought after the Goblin King, though she knew not why she needed him so. A small smile appeared on her face as she picked up the garment. "I don't think I've ever admitted this before, but I think that the illusion was my favorite part of the Labyrinth. Even though I spent the time searching, it felt more like a game than it did when I was searching for Toby. I wasn't as stressed because it wasn't as serious. I don't think I would say that if I hadn't defeated it, though. If I hadn't won, I don't think I ever could have forgiven Jareth. Or myself."

"So you have forgiven?" Lily asked conversationally, glad to have Sarah talking about what appeared to be a safe subject.

"Over time, though mostly recently, I've started to realize that your brother only did what the story told me he'd do, what I ask him to do. I never would have said the words if deep down, I believed that the story was real," she said softly. Her expression sobered slightly. "Even after it all, I'm happy that I said the words. Toby and I are so close now. I love him so much. We couldn't have gotten this close without everything we went through." She paused, as though to consider her words. When her mouth opened, she referred to a rather mirthless, recent occurrence. "And I don't think that I could have survived all of this without you two."

Lily smiled and patted Sarah's hand. Perhaps reconciling the two would not be so hard as she thought, as long as temporary friendship was acceptable to her headstrong elder brother. Instead of pushing Sarah to continue, or pull up any more unpleasant memories of Damien and return to her state of silence, the blond woman returned the attention to the brunette's wardrobe by picking up the white dress again.

"Will you wear it?" she queried with a smile. "We have substitutions if you will not."

"No," Sarah said as she returned the smile slowly. "I would hate for anything to happen to it. May I still keep it?"

"Absolutely," Lily agreed, though she was well aware that no harm could come to the dress that could not be repaired. She chose to ignore this fact because it indicated that Sarah cared for the fate of Jareth's gift to her. "I have several dresses in my chambers that you may wear."

"Oh, I couldn't," Sarah answered, looking down at her hands.

"Of course you can. Now, no more arguing. I want you to think of me like a sister. Now, what is the phrase? It is time to go raid my closet," she replied with a wicked grin on her face. At this moment, Sarah was reminded strongly of Jareth. At this moment, in the hands of the Fae siblings, she was safe and began to think that she could even be happy.

Later that evening, Lily led the three human women toward the family dining room. When they entered, the room was empty save one serving goblin that struggled atop a chair to pour the water and the wine to be served with the meal. The little thing finished its task, placed the wine bottle into a large bucket of ice beside several other bottles, and hopped down from its chair. The goblin gave a little bow and scurried out of the room. There were formal place cards at each seat and Lily was glad to see that the goblins had not fumbled her orders. Sarah was to be seated between Jareth and herself. If she was sure to keep her attentions on the other two human women, the soul she wished to be her future sister-in-law would have no choice but to speak to her brother. It was enough to make her fight the smile that threatened to break out on her pale face.

The women had just settled into their seats and begun a happy chatter when Jareth walked in. Lily was pleased to note that Sarah had been active in the conversation, if just a bit withdrawn. The current state of affairs was much more conducive to free discussion than it had been when the young woman was withdrawn in her quarters.

All rose to welcome the Goblin King to the table and returned to their seats as he joined them. He had been uncharacteristically nervous about seeing Sarah again, but he calmed once he saw that she was not as cold to him as he feared. Without a thought, Jareth took up his wine glass and raised it high into the air. "To the fearless Miss Williams, the fairy maid who slew a great dragon," he said with a smile on his face.

"Here, here!" Lily agreed, as she too lifted her glass. There was mirth as the other three joined in and toasted to Sarah.

"I can't thank you all enough," the brunette began, but was interrupted before she could finish.

"That's enough of that, Sarah," Jareth said sternly. A smile graced his face. "Tonight, I have a desire for pleasure, for both myself and my new friends. Drink of my wine, enjoy my hospitality, but do not damper our collective pleasure by sober appreciation!" At the nervous look he received from Sarah, he laughed and touched her forearm to show the jovial nature of his threat.

Sarah smiled in return and took up her wine glass. She happily drained it, and in doing so, reminded her two friends of what she could be like prior to her relationship with Damien. It gave the two a burst of fresh hope that Sarah did not lose herself to Damien's harsh ways.

The first course was served, as well as another bottle of the wine that the group had quickly grown to enjoy. The more they drank, the livelier the conversation became. Sarah, who had grown somewhat quiet after her chastisement, quickly became the chattiest of the group. Lily did her best to keep the attentions of Tessa and Katelin focused on her, which left Sarah and Jareth on their own. By the time they had completed dinner, the two were in quite a heated discussion, no doubt lubricated by their excessive drinking. Lily had only to sit back and watch as the two unwittingly won each other's favor.

The pair found that they had much in common when it came to books that they preferred. Obviously, Sarah had never read any book originating in the Underground, save the red bound copy of the Labyrinth that she still kept. However, Jareth had acquired a great many Aboveground books over the years. Books were among the few things that the Goblin King could bring to his castle without having to duplicate the complex science of the Aboveground.

"Jane Eyre!" Sarah said loudly as she pointed at Jareth, as though she dared him to face her wrath and claim to dislike the novel.

"I detest that _Sin-Jun_ Rivers! That Jane even though to go with him was a disappointment," Jareth replied as he forcefully returned his wine glass to the table, as though to prove his point. "What of Walden?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"A man lives in a forest, only has three chairs and spends less than $100 a year?" Sarah asked. Her voice held a hint of incredulity. "Here I thought you had good taste! Pride and Prejudice?"

"Elizabeth was too harsh on Darcy," Jareth said with a wave of his hand.

"What! You're kidding me!" Sarah replied heatedly. "Would you really want to make nice with a woman who called you tolerable, when every other you'd met flattered your handsome face?"

Lily smirked. Sarah was telling Jareth that she found him handsome, albeit in a roundabout way. The princess had long ago slowed her drinking, to have a better degree of control over the situation. She, however, was more than glad to top off any cup that might require it.

"Was not Elizabeth just as cruel to Darcy in subsequent meetings? Was she not overly cruel in her judgment of his character when she stayed with the Bingleys? Was not her refusal of him heart breaking? Did she not understand her feelings for him until she believed it was far too late?"

"Mr. Darcy's initial cruelty paved the way for Elizabeth's, if her actions were even cruel. I think she was justified to treat Mr. Darcy the way she did. He hurt her pride. That is not easy to bounce back from," Sarah retorted.

There was a silence between the two for several seconds. It was during this time that Lily understood the nature of their conversation about the human book, Pride and Prejudice. They were not only speaking of the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth, but combining those with their own personalities and experiences of one another. This was a surprising step toward friendship and understanding that Lily did not believe either Sarah or Jareth understood they took.

Conversation eventually returned to the subject of books. Both had a marked preference for literature penned between 1700 and 1900, though Jareth seemed to have a greater appreciation for American authors than Sarah did, and the young woman felt more love for the British. On many pieces, they shared opinions. No other outburst matched the heat and intensity of the sudden flame that Darcy and Elizabeth had sparked between the two.

The meal continued this way. If there was not heated discussion, there was comfortable conversation or companionable silence. The wine was gone by dessert, and replaced by steaming cups of coffee and tea. Barely any had the room to eat and instead decided to take part in some dancing. Happily, Jareth switched off partners, pairing all four over the course of the subsequent hour. Lily then took the position of lead to offer more than one other person the option of dancing, and often switched between Tessa and Katelin. Yes, her plans were progressing very well for the two of them.


	6. Part 6

Katelin, Tessa and Lily had all gone from their private dining room. Two were sleepy with wine, while the third thought it best to leave Sarah and Jareth alone. They had long ago stopped dancing and began to discuss novels once more. The conversation grew quiet when they rest of the party quitted them.

"Jareth, you really must let me thank you properly," Sarah said, trying to recall her protector to the conversation he so decidedly ended before. "You swept into my room like a knight in shining armor and saved me. It's a silly allusion to make, but I couldn't think of something that fit any better. And you've stood by my side through all of it…"

The Goblin King wanted to tell her why he stood as such a wall, such a shield, between Sarah and any danger that may wish to strike her. He longed to beg her to take his hand and, with it, his heart and kingdom. However, he knew that he could not. She was not prepared and he could not take another refusal.

"I've sought your friendship since the night you defeated the Labyrinth, and called all of your newfound friends to your side. I wanted to be among them, but could not. This was the right course to take to begin the road to your friendship, one I hope you would like to remain in," Jareth said. His heart clenched at the idea of Sarah refusing his company, harshly and decisively.

Instead, she laughed. "Don't be ridiculous! You hope! I want to see you and Lily as often as you can come see me. I would miss the two of you too much," Sarah replied. There was a long pause. "Jareth, I know how I want Damien punished."

The laughter that danced on Jareth's lips flew as did his jovial mood when she said these words. "I shall do as you see fit," was his formal reply.

Courageous with exhaustion and drink, Sarah sat up tall. "I want to tell him. I want him to know his fate tonight. Will you take me to him?"

"This is what you truly desire?"

"Absolutely."

"Then we shall away to his cell and inform the prisoner of his sentence," Jareth replied and reached out to take Sarah's hand.

The two reappeared in the dungeon, just outside of the cell that held Damien. He was asleep on a small cot. Jareth immediately snapped up a containment field as additional protection for Sarah, and an excuse to injure Damien. "Rise, human scum, and prepare to face your punishment!" Jareth said, with a stern, judicious air.

Damien rolled over and a tired eye observed the pair. "Oh, the bitch and her fuck toy? What the hell do you two want?"

Sarah's breath caught in her throat. This all seemed so easy at the table when she mentioned the idea to Jareth. Now all was different. He was in front of her. That thought sobered and woke her directly, and she didn't know what to do.

A low growl issued forth from Jareth's throat. There was nothing he would like better at this moment than to choke the life out of this man, but he could not. Sarah had made her decision, and he was sure death was not the punishment she chose; she would have told him before they came down here if she had expected anything of that nature. Even still, he wished that a sound lashing would be a part of Sarah's plan. There was so much for Damien to atone for, and Jareth knew that the chosen punishment would not fit the crime. However, there was nothing he could do.

A tug on his sleeve drew Jareth from his fantasies of killing or maiming the mortal in front of him. Sarah's eyes were wide, and her skin ashen. "Jareth, I can't," she said.

"You must," Jareth replied with the command of a king. He sounded haughty when next he spoke. "You cannot regain the courage of the puny insignificant human that once told me that I, Jareth, King of the Goblins, had no power over her."

"I am not insignificant!" the Sarah that ran the Labyrinth replied, the Sarah that Jareth fell in love with.

"That's a girl," he said with a smirk, glad that his words brought forth the reaction he wanted. "I am well aware of it. He, however, is not."

"I don't want to see you ever again, Damien," Sarah said after a pause. Her voice was shaky and uncertain. The words spilled out in such a way that Jareth was sure she'd rehearsed them in her head for hours before she could say them. Sarah reached out, shadowed by the dark of the dank dungeon and took Jareth's hand for support. The more she spoke, the harder it became, as she could see the fury and disbelief in Damien's eyes.

"I-I don't l-love you anym-more," she managed. Now, she was shaking; even Sarah was not sure if it was from the fear or the sobs she fought to hold back. Damien's look grew more and more dangerous as Sarah steeled herself to plow through what she knew needed to be said.

"But I won't forget you, n-not yet. Not until I c-can come ho-home without w-worrying that you'll hit me," she kept on. The woman took no notice of her stutters, as though she had not produced the sounds. Sarah took a deep breath and painted an image of confidence on her face, in her stance, and clung to that image with all that she had. If she could make Damien believe that she was serious and that she was unafraid of him, then she could do this. If she broke down later, so be it. She had to be strong now.

Sarah felt Jareth's hand tighten on hers in a gentle squeeze. 'You have no power over me,' she thought, a memory from her time in the Labyrinth brought back by Jareth's words, and the strength he offered her. If she thought Jareth unworthy to rule her, Damien certainly would not contain that power.

"So that is what I'm going to do. A good friend once told me that an oubliette is where you put someone in order to forget about them." The words were coming faster, which made Sarah feel more comfortable saying them. "So that is where you'll go, and I'll spend the next five years forgetting you."

"Are you done?" Damien asked. Sarah's assertiveness obviously enraged and excited him. She could see his jaw clench, but more than that, the raw lust that had appeared in his eyes. He wanted her, but with that desire, there would be punishment for being bad, for whatever he thought she did. And that only excited him more. It turned Sarah's stomach.

"Yes," she replied simply, for she did not have a better answer.

"You are mine," he said with dangerous calm. "You cannot leave me here because you can't live without me. I won't let you."

"You are hardly in a position to speak in such a way," Jareth drawled lazily, finally speaking up on Sarah's behalf. He had to protect her in what little way he could while still allowing her this chance to heal. If she could stand up to him like this, she could see her own strength, and hopefully her worth, and begin the path back to the woman she once was and would be again, if Jareth had anything to say about it.

"You think she'll really leave me here?" Damien asked incredulously. He spoke of Sarah as though she were not standing in front of him. The way he spoke indicated he still thought that the woman he claimed to love had no choice in the matter whatsoever.

"I know it. You can't knock her down when I am here to help her stand, the wall she can lean on, or hide behind should she feel afraid," Jareth said, and, in the process, he betrayed more than he had originally intended.

"I knew you two were fucking," Damien shouted. His raging eyes turned on Sarah. "If you aren't mine, you're no one's, bitch. I'll kill you and your fairy."

"No," Jareth said, looking bored. "We are not, as you so vulgarly put it, 'fucking.' And you will not get out and harm either of this. You are to do as Sarah commanded."

"Everyone will think you're in jail for the next five years. The charges are assault related to your abuse of me. You'll lose your job and probably never get another like it. If you come near me ever again, I'll call Jareth. He's much easier to get a hold of than the police, and believes what I tell him. If that happens, I'll let him do whatever he wants to do with you," she said as calmly as she could, almost mechanically. Deep down, she was shocked that she had not run in terror or fallen apart. She looked down at her hand, which still held fast to Jareth's. It was so strange that he turned from antagonist to protector at such a fast pace.

Sarah turned to go, and as she did, Damien sprang up and slammed into the bars. The young woman yelped and jumped, but the cage held fast against its enraged captive. She shrunk back behind Jareth; her hand held tighter to his than it had before.

"You are mine. Marry me, Sarah, and I'll forgive you for all of this," Damien said, his voice low but terrifying. "You need me to watch over you. Who else would love you but me?"

Jareth bit his lip. He promised both Sarah and himself that he would not renew his offer. His pride could not bear her awkward appreciation or sheer terror at the thought of a man loving her. It would be her idea, or he would long for her without relief until the day that she died, and likely beyond that, before he would open himself to such scrutiny again.

Sarah looked at Damien for a long moment, as though she were considering him. With what strength of mind she had left, she stepped closer to the bars, though still out of reach. "Damien, you have no power over me." With dignity, she turned and walked out of the dungeon. Jareth followed close behind, her hand so like a vice on his own despite the danger she perceived being long past.

Abruptly, she stopped. The Goblin King almost collided with her. She seemed a little weak on her feet. At that moment, Jareth recalled how much wine the woman had consumed during their small party. His free hand came to rest on the small of Sarah's back to try to steady her.

"Oh, I don't feel so good," she said and her step faltered.

"You're exhausted," Jareth said as he swiftly picked her up. His face was tight with concern over her well-being. "I'll take you to your room. Don't worry. You're safe in my arms."

"I know," Sarah said and rested her head on his chest.

Jareth bit his lip for the second time to prevent himself from professing his love for this frail little human woman. He could not do it, would not do it, until she professed her own love first. And that, he feared, was something that would never happen.


	7. Part 7

Note: My Beta didn't look over it this time. I figured it took me too long without tracking her down, so I just went ahead.

And, urg, the formatting sucks. My asterisks are disappearing and I have no other way to separate sections!

The next morning, Jareth sat in the private dining chamber in his suite with Lily. Their joint decision had been to allow the three visitors to sleep in, since their exhaustion was likely. Jareth had another reason to encourage their prolonged rest: the longer Sarah lay in bed, the longer he could keep her here, in the Underground, where Jareth would know if she was alright. With Sarah in bed, the Goblin King could keep a part of his heart at a comfortable distance. He was sure she would wake and demand to go home and he could not face that yet.

"I'm so proud of her," Lily said as she gazed over her teacup at her elder brother as though she was testing him.

"As am I," he replied without the additional details that his sister longed for him to provide.

"I cannot believe you two planned this, all of this secrecy, and went without the rest of us," the princess replied with some small amount of indignation.

"I would not call it a plan, or even a secret. It was a whim and some gathered courage thanks to a rather large amount of wine," he replied mildly, though a smirk tugged at his lips.

"You know she will leave here now."

"Yes, but I do not want to think of it. Currently, Sarah is safe in a bed, one of my beds, though not the one I would have put her in had I any sway over her will," Jareth replied, more than a little melancholy that Sarah did not warm his bed.

"As I recall, she fainted from wine and exhaustion. You'd have had no pleasure from her last night, dearest," Lily smirked, despite the pity she felt for her brother's pining. When she made this expression, she looked precisely like him.

"Holding her through dreams she must have had, and will have yet, would be sufficient pleasure," Jareth retorted, much like a disappointed child, bitter that his mother refused his prize.

"Dreams she will have, but will no longer be realized because of you," Lily reminded him.

"Saving her was a joy for me, and a reminder, but that only opens a flood gate that will be difficult to shut again. My preoccupation with the young Sarah nearly ruined my kingdom. Now, as a fully grown woman, her appeal strikes me in ways it could not have before. The more I see of her, the more that I love her, and the more I fear that I will never stop. When she is gone, I shall miss her. I fear I won't stop missing her," Jareth said, sinking further in to despondency. His face dropped into his hands, as though he could not face even Lily, whom he trusted so completely.

"Dearest," she said with the look of a sister prepared to slap sense into her elder brother. "This is not you. You are a strong man, and you are proud, even haughty at times. Fight for her if you want to keep her. See her; bring her here to see you. Fight for what you want and stop whining like so many of your human children."

Rage flashed through Jareth's mismatched eyes, a normal occurrence between siblings. However, he saw the sense and decided to forgive the delivery, this time anyway. Lily always seemed to know how to strike at his very heart and, yet, barely leave a bruise.

"So be it," Jareth said.

Sarah woke just after Jareth and Lily had completed their breakfast. Goblins dressed her, a feeling she liked despite how awkward it was for a self-sufficient woman to be dressed by the ugly, though oddly endearing, creatures of the Underground. She wore a pale blue dress, which she could only assume belonged to Lily. They had determined the previous night that the two wore nearly the same size, though Sarah filled out the bust and hips of Lily's dresses somewhat better than the waif-like princess.

After the goblins had gone, Sarah dropped back onto her bed and stared at the furnishings. She did not want to leave, but she knew that she must. There was no life for her here, no job and no family. If not for Jareth's determination to protect her, even after their disagreement, she would have gone so far as to believe she had no friends down here either. Yet, she was upset to depart from such a wonderful place. It was not like her first visit, when she could not have left quickly enough. In the day or so that she had been here, she grew rather attached to everything, from the smallest chicken-chasing goblin to their king himself.

The woman sat up in her bed in what she could only describe as panic. Jareth would not desert her after all of his help, would he? She would miss him terribly if he abandoned her, though she could not blame him if he did. He offered her all the world and she refused it twice: once for honor and once for fear. Could he really wish to be near her ever again?

The bed creaked softly as she pushed herself off of it once more. She had managed to face the man years before, when she had been terrified of him, because she knew that she had to do it. Now was no different, though her fears were of leaving and returning to her world alone without any of the magic she encountered here, or so she told herself. Before she lost her courage, she took a brief glance in the mirror and exited her room. Familiar flutters burst to life in her stomach at the thought of facing a man in a disagreement. It took all that was in her not to think of Damien and turn back to her room with the irrational fear that Jareth, too, will turn from kindness and understanding into the monster that had been in her life for longer than she cared to recall.

With renewed vigor, she forced herself down the hallway. It took her several minutes to realize that she had no idea where Jareth was, that she had never navigated these corridors without one of the royal siblings to escort her. Frantically, she searched for a goblin to assist her in trying to find Jareth. When she did, the little thing escorted her to the king's chambers, where she was told he dined with his sister. The goblin cowered before Sarah and did not speak a word, except when it was prompted to with questions. It fled as soon as they reached Jareth's door. The mannerisms of this particular goblin confused Sarah greatly, as most of them had seemed to have no thought to fear, despite the way they were treated. Perhaps Jareth was in a poor mood today.

There was no point in dwelling on the goblin; it only derailed her from her task. Sarah rapped her knuckles on the Goblin King's door. She had to do something to stop him from sending her away just when a real bond of friendship had appeared between them. She only hoped that Jareth was not angry at her for nearly collapsing on him last night, irrational as this fear may be. If he was, he would surely send her home. How could she return to her world to reclaim her old life without such friends as these to help her through the difficulties? She had known them such a short time, but could already hardly imagine living without them.

"Enter" a male voice, Jareth's voice, replied and pulled her from her thoughts and fears of leaving so soon.

When the brunette entered the room, he began to feel ill. He was certain that she would beg to go home, back to the family that loved her, and whatever friends she could salvage from the time of Damien's control. However, the Goblin King managed to retain his cool, emotionless mask when he bid her good morning.

"Good morning," the woman replied. She was unsure if she should curtsy to him, so she did it anyway. It could only help her and, judging by the cold, detached expression on Jareth's face and tone of his voice, she could use all of the help that she could get to earn his favor.

"Please, sit, have a little breakfast," Lily offered politely as she shot her brother an annoyed look and poured Sarah a cup of tea.

"Thanks," Sarah said as she sat nervously with her hands in her lap. Staring blankly at the cup Lily placed before her.

"Is there something you needed?" Jareth inquired brusquely.

"I, well-," Sarah began.

Jareth felt deflated. The illness was replaced by an emptiness. "You want to go home?" he finished for her without any change of tone, a feat he was surprised that he could accomplish.

"No!" Sarah said before she could stop the outburst. She scrambled to provide her explanation before Jareth thought her any crazier than he must have already. "I was hoping that I could stay a few more days. I haven't seen Hoggle, Ludo or Sir Didymus since, well, since…"

"Since that bastard killed your imagination?" Jareth asked, inwardly kicking himself for forgetting about the friends Sarah had in the Underground. Of course she would want to see them. When he only received a shrug from the struggling young woman, he continued. "I will arrange a meeting for tomorrow. You should relax today, gain back the strength it took to stand up to Damien. Lily will order you a private lunch and your guests will be welcome to attend dinner with us tomorrow night, if Hoggle can handle sitting at the table with me," Jareth finished with a smirk.

Sarah smiled hesitantly and accepted the muffin that Jareth's silent sister offered to her. "Thank you, Jareth. I owe you again."

Jareth laughed, his tension gone. She would stay. He had her for at least a few more days. This provided him with the opportunity to win her over, make her understand how well they fit together. "Repay me by showing Lily and I the same kindness and hospitality when we travel to the Aboveground to pay you visits," he replied jovially, taking the chance that Sarah would refuse them as visitors in her home.

"Of course," Sarah replied with a smile, and pure joy tugged at Jareth's heart.

The rest of the day was pleasant. Sarah, Katelin and Tessa spent the duration in the gardens. When Lily had completed her tasks, including the preparations for Sarah's visit with her old friends from the Underground, she took them through a part of the Labyrinth that was nearer to the castle. These were passages Sarah missed because she had fallen into the oubliette. The young woman found it to be quite pleasant when she could walk through it leisurely instead of with great haste and the pressure of possibly losing her little brother.

Jareth, however, spent his day conducting affairs of state and dealing with his subjects in the throne room. It was a much more tedious process than normal because he had double the problems to deal with, as the previous day had been spent in comforting Sarah and leading her through the difficult task that she had completed so wonderfully. It was a thought Jareth had to banish from his head or else he would never be able to assist his subjects in their needs, from disputes between the landed gentry to concerns over possible food shortages in distant provinces. The humans he dealt with were obstinate and the goblins were tedious creatures; Jareth felt incredibly lucky when a pair of them would listen to his entire decision before further bickering. By the end of the day, Jareth was in a poor mood, to say the very least.

Sarah was the first person he saw as he retreated to his room in order to change for dinner. She waited on the floor beside his doorway, her knees pulled up to her chest. The image made him smirk, despite the mood. The young woman, however, grinned broadly when she saw him. She pushed herself up off of the ground and wiped the dust and dirt from the back of the dress she now knew to be Lily's.

"I came to get you for dinner," Sarah said, offering an explanation in lieu of a greeting. "We decided that we wanted to eat outside tonight, since it's a great day and we were already having a lot of fun out in the garden. Lily had a table set up out there. They're all still playing Bocce Ball on the lawn, but I figured I'd meet you on your way up here."

"Come in," Jareth said as he opened the door to his chamber. Sarah hesitated; he frowned in response, his voice acquiring a bit of an edge to it. "If you would recall from this morning, I have a sitting room. I am not trying to make you uncomfortable."

Sarah flushed and looked at her hands rather than face the Goblin King who read her nerves so well. "Oh, I feel silly. I'm sorry, Jareth. I'm still not really back to the old me, not yet and it comes up mostly when I'm around you, since you're the only guy. Its going to take a while, you know?"

"It is alright," Jareth replied, his voice and features a bit softened since last he spoke. Her rambling betrayed more than her words did. He put his hand on Sarah's back and led her into the sitting room. The table in the middle had been cleared of breakfast long ago and a vase of roses replaced it. The Goblin King led his companion to the seat she had occupied this morning and made his way to a cabinet near the table. He withdrew a bottle of fortified wine and poured two small glasses, one of which was given to Sarah.

"I will return in a moment," Jareth said, after having taken a sip himself. "Drink that slowly, or else we'll have you doing reckless things along the lines of what occurred last night. We can't have you slaying more dragons so quickly, my little fairy." His retreat to his bedroom hid the flash of tenderness in his eye, which he was thankful for. There was a ferocity in his compassion for this girl that took him by the throat and forced him to his knees, beating back his pride in the process. It concerned him to watch his sense of dignity fall by the wayside, as he could not afford to break his promise and make the offer to her a third time. His poor heart could not take the blow of yet another refusal.

Sarah blushed, a bright shade of red danced over her cheeks when Jareth exited the room, glad that it was behind his back. His little fairy? Jareth certainly was acting strangely. It created mixed feelings within her. It was all she could do to hide the confusion when he returned, dressed in his best, as she did not know how to take what he said, nor did she know how best to respond.

Jareth offered his arm to Sarah, an arrogant smirk on his face as she took it. It made her uneasy. Over the last two days, Jareth had kept her off balance, to say the very least. His moods ran hot and cold, angry and injured to playful and back again before she truly understood what had occurred.

"You spilled a bit of wine on your dress," Jareth said, his smirk only growing as he spoke. Sarah wanted to laugh. All of this analysis and his smirk was only a reaction to the droplets of dark wine on Lily's dress. Before she could feel concern for the dress, Jareth's hand came to rest in the space between her collarbone and her breasts, just over the stain. The young woman fought the urge to gasp, her companion barely inches away from her. All she had to do was tilt her head up and lean forward just a bit and their lips would meet. She wanted it, but was afraid to admit that she felt desire for the Goblin King, and even more afraid that a relationship with him would be a case of history repeating.

Almost before the idea crossed Sarah's mind, Jareth was again beside her, the stain gone from Lily's dress; his arm rested beneath her hand as he brought her to the door. He seemed unfazed by what had nearly happened. The brunette walked beside him, a comfortable distance between the two, in a sort of a daze, confused by her body's reaction to Jareth's nearness and the lack of reaction from the Goblin King. She was sure he would try to kiss her, especially after his admission the day before, and yet he'd made no move.

The ease Jareth felt was merely a front. He not only dressed his body for dinner, but his frame of mind, though it had not changed anything beneath the surface. It took all of his self control to keep from taking Sarah in his arms and showing her a pleasure that Damien could never provide. His promise rang in his mind, in clear opposition to his desire to possess this woman and be possessed by her. His feelings had not changed from his first offer. He wanted her fear, love and obedience, and, in turn, he was prepared to offer his own. Jareth would daily fear for her, love her and obey her in all that he could if she would only accept him as her lover, perhaps someday even more. Instead, he could only fear that she would never love him, not as he wanted her to love him. The pride of both parties could very well prevent this from ever coming to pass, as well as their all but immobilizing fear of the consequences of such admissions.

So much went unsaid as the pair lazily walked toward the gardens, though both spoke frequently. The trip through the deceptively long corridors felt brief. Before either was really aware, they stood outside and watched as Tessa mocked Katelin's botched throw. Lily simply smirked in such a way that would have proved she was Jareth's sister, had there been any doubt, and elegantly rolled her ball across the grass to attain a better spot.

"Well done," Jareth called as he dropped his arm, leaving Sarah's hand in midair. It felt oddly empty, now that it did not possess him. However, she chose not to dwell on the feeling and hurried forward to call out encouraging remarks to Katelin as she threw, and missed, her final ball. Lily only offered Jareth a significant glance, one he ignored in favor of sitting at the dinner table and enjoying the view of his lovely Sarah before it was no longer available to him.


End file.
